Shadowing Practice: Riley Green on his collabs with Ella Langley - Learn English Speaking with Video

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38 sentences
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1
There are a lot of collaborations, sadly enough, that are manager to manager, record label to record label.
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Like, hey, we need to get these two people together and merge their fan bases.
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And there's nothing, there's been some great songs come out of that.
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Something about country music, I feel like there's an authenticity that fans can see pretty quick.
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But you technically could tour with somebody and never even interact with them if you don't want to.
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I've got songs with people I've never performed with them, you know, and that's tough.
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I mean, because what a great moment for fans when they have a song they really enjoy from two artists.
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Maybe they love one or one's new to them, whatever it is, and they get to see it.
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I bring up Ella a lot because we had You Look Like You Love Me and Don't Mind If I Do, and she was on tour with me.
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So we got to play those two songs together every night for fans.
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And, I mean, I could feel the excitement when she would walk out, sit on a stool, and we would play Don't Mind If I Do.
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That doesn't happen often.
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So it's so great that, again, I've got a song with Hannah.
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She's out on the road with me.
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And to have this song with Jake while he's out is a really cool thing.
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Why is that important, though? to have a relationship with your opener, to have a connection with the people that you exist with on tour?
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Well, I mean, the same reason you need friends in life, I guess.
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I mean, you're out on the road with these people all the time.
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I've done tours where I was open and act and didn't speak to the headliner.
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You know, nothing against them.
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I assumed everybody's pretty busy.
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And now that I'm in it, I know how busy they are.
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But you also know what it means.
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I also know what it does to an opener
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when it's the other way around i know what it was like for me
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when i was on my first major tour opening for brad
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paisley i was first of three it's me chris lane and brad paisley and i wrote i wish grandpa's never died
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and i walked past the green room
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and my band was in there listening to something on the phone
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and i heard it and it was that song
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but i couldn't figure out who was singing it was brad paisley he posted a video of him singing
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that song because he liked it asked me to come out during his set
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and perform that song and i'm i played 25 minutes i played five songs on that set you know
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uh and i remember what that meant to me you know
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and and the the moments i got to spend with him in dirks was
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so great and jason aldean was great
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and luke bryan was great you know you remember those guys
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that when they walked past your bus they stopped and said hello you know

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Riley Green on his collabs with Ella Langley”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: song, tour, fan, paisley, brad. This video has 38 sentences and 523 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:11. The speaker talks fast, about 240 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
brad noun/bɹæd/A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an…
label noun/ˈleɪ.bəl/A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.
luke adjective/l(j)uːk/lukewarm
collaboration noun/kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/The act of collaborating.
excitement noun/ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/The state of being excited (emotionally aroused).
sadly adverb/ˈsædli/In a sad manner; sorrowfully.
technically adverb/ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/Based on precise facts, which, however, may be contrary to common belief or casual terminology.
interact verb/ɪn.təˈɹækt/To engage in communication and other shared activities (with someone).
bind verb/ˈbaɪ̯nd/To tie; to confine by any ligature.
merge verb/mɝd͡ʒ/To combine into a whole.
authenticity noun/ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/The quality of being genuine or not corrupted from the original, of having the same origin (or attribution, commitment, intention, etc.) as claimed.
stool noun/stuːl/A seat for one person without a back or armrests.
paisley noun/ˈpeɪzli/A motif of a swirling droplet.
dirk noun/dɝk/A long Scottish dagger with a straight blade.
headliner noun/ˈhɛdˌlaɪnɚ/The interior fabric covering the ceiling-like area inside of a vehicle.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
bring up verbTo mention.
come out verb/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/To be discovered; to be revealed.
figure out verbTo come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
walk out verbTo stage a walkout or strike.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as I've, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • Long words — get the stress right: collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like brad, label, luke.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →